Inside the grand hall of the royal palace, the celebration was still in full swing.

Reinhardt, the center of attention and the newly appointed Viscount, had just escaped a group of bootlicking nobles when...

CRASH...

There was a loud commotion and a table flipped over along with a stumbling young knight.

"Ouch... Ouch... I slipped."

A young man with short black hair made his appearance. But maybe because he was too excited and didn’t control his speed, or maybe he simply didn’t expect the polished marble floor of the ballroom to be so slippery, the moment he entered the hall his feet skidded and he slipped, causing a commotion in front of everyone.

"Aha... haha..."

Seeing that the entire room was now staring at him, the young man couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly.

The young man was none other than Kevin.

Behind him came running Gwen, followed by Delicia, Rolan, and finally Eleanor, who was a little out of breath.

The moment they saw Kevin creating a scene, Gwen slapped her forehead. She quickly grabbed his head and made him bow before everyone.

"You idiot, you can’t just run into the royal palace like a bandit. Do you have any idea how many guards were ready to strike you down? If not for the Temple of Light insignia on your armor, you would already be dead. Now quickly apologize to everyone here."

"I’m sorry I slipped," Kevin honestly apologized.

Then, while still keeping his head down, he looked at Gwen and then pointed at their commander in the distance.

"Look, I found him."

A moment of silence passed, and Reinhardt quickly stepped forward to manage the situation. He helped the servants who had tripped because of Kevin back up and introduced the newcomers to everyone.

When everyone learned they were members of the Order of the Temple of Light, they nodded and dropped the issue.

While some nobles were still displeased by the unseemly antics of the boy, they could only swallow their complaints.

After things settled down, Reinhardt approached the group. He was not angry or annoyed. He simply looked at them, then nodded approvingly.

"It seems you all have become stronger. When did you all return?"

Kevin, always the excited one, explained enthusiastically.

"We did get stronger, Commander! We came to the capital after Lady Eleanor’s shooting was over to get our statuses checked. We’re all Level 6 now."

"Hoh, is that so? Well done. It looks like the journey turned out to be fruitful for you all. Everyone here is progressing well."

Reinhardt patted Kevin’s shoulder. The latter was all too eager to tell him about their adventures.

"Maybe later. Right now, why don’t you all rest a little and eat something? There’s plenty of food."

"We’ll do that, Commander!"

Before Kevin could speak again, he was dragged back by Gwen.

"Thank you for protecting Eleanor."

With the noisy fellow gone, Reinhardt glanced at Delicia and was slightly surprised by how much stronger she had become.

Most noticeable were her stats and her class. It was far higher than that of a newly risen Level 6 knight.

"I just did my duty. Although I have a lot to talk with you, I had better go there before my comrades make any more trouble."

Saying that, Delicia went after the noisy bunch.

Comrades...a term that had once felt distant to her. But now, she had begun to regard them as her true comrades.

Reinhardt understood the meaning and smiled.

When everyone left, his eyes finally landed on the woman who had stayed silent the entire time.

For a brief moment, the entire hall seemed to grow quiet.

Eleanor looked up at him, and Reinhardt looked back. Neither of them spoke. But something passed between them: a spark, recognition, understanding.

They did not need words. Just by staring into each other’s eyes, they knew everything.

A silent moment where only the two of them existed in this world.

While Eleanor and Reinhardt were staring at each other, whispers began spreading among the crowd.

Of course, it was not because they were having a moment, but because many of them had realized something.

Several nobles stared carefully at Eleanor.

"Isn’t that..."

"Wait... could it really be..."

"There cannot be anyone else that beautiful..."

Shock spread across the room.

Years ago, Eleanor had been one of the most famous actresses in the kingdom. Her beauty had once captivated the entire capital. And then, she had disappeared mysteriously from the world.

And now, she was standing beside Viscount Reinhardt.

Naturally, the whispers turned into gossip.

"Is that really Eleanor?"

"I heard rumors she appeared in some border town..."

"I thought she disappeared from the world..."

"Why is she with Viscount Reinhardt?"

"Are they close?"

"Is she returning to acting?"

The speculation grew louder and louder. Some even began guessing wildly about their relationship.

Sitting on her throne, the Queen watched the scene carefully. Her eyes moved between Reinhardt and Eleanor in silent speculation.

Nearby, Vanessa raised an eyebrow with interest.

"Well, well... this is getting interesting."

It was not just her. Leona and Verdia stared at them as well. It was unknown what they were thinking.

Meanwhile, Kevin talked with Gwen, completely oblivious to the chaos he had caused.

"What should I eat? Everything looks so delicious."

Behind them, a gossip storm erupted.

.

.

After the ceremony in the capital was over, Reinhardt returned to Snowpoint City.

Compared to the noisy capital, Snowpoint felt quiet and peaceful. Cold mountain winds swept through the streets, and the young World Tree at the heart of the city shimmered faintly with gentle green light.

When he left, he went alone. However, when he came back, he came back with a group.

Needless to say, Kevin and the others followed him back. However, they weren’t the only ones.

Verdia and Arthur also came along with him.

Standing beside him, dressed elegantly as always, Reinhardt questioned Verdia.

"You’re both really staying?"

Verdia nodded calmly.

"Of course. Didn’t I explain to you on the way?"

It seemed that before leaving the capital, she had had a long conversation with Raymond and had somehow convinced him that Arthur needed proper training.

And who better to teach him than one of the three strongest knights of the kingdom?

Raymond agreed in the end.

Now Arthur would live in Snowpoint for the time being and be trained by Reinhardt.

Arthur clenched his fists excitedly.

"Brother! This time I won’t lose so easily!"

Reinhardt looked at him with amused eyes.

"You’ve never won before."

"T-That’s not the point."

Verdia looked at the two of them and chuckled softly.

Although he returned to Snowpoint City, it did not mean that things had settled down. There were far bigger things happening in the world.

After the grand ball in the capital, the Queen publicly announced several important decisions. One of them concerned humanity’s path from this point forward.

The Seven Kingdoms Summit would convene once again. Leaders from the seven major human kingdoms would gather to discuss the future of their alliance.

And this time, the location would be this place, the capital of Solairs. And the date had already been set.

That was not the only announcement.

On that same day, another historic event would take place. The rebirth of something humanity had not seen in a while.

The Reestablishment of the Allied Knight Order.

That’s right, the order that once had all the strongest and greatest knights of humanity. The Seven Kingdoms, six now, would come together along with all the smaller nations to form the strongest knight order that humanity had ever seen.

For the second time in history, the Allied Knight Order would be formed once again.

The news was so big that it caused a sensation in the capital and all over Solairs. The same was also true in other kingdoms. Many people were excited. Many were nervous.

Because everyone understood one thing.

If humanity was forming such a powerful military alliance again... it meant the world was entering a dangerous new era.

.

Morning sunlight spread across the training grounds, and the sound of clashing swords could be heard.

CLAK!

A wooden sword flew out of someone’s hand and landed several meters away.

Standing in the center of the ring was Kevin. He looked at his opponent lying on the ground, staring at him in disbelief.

"You... have become a lot stronger. It seems you really leveled up."

There was admiration in the man’s voice, but also bitterness.

The two of them had joined the Temple of Light together years ago. Back then, Kevin had been nothing special. He couldn’t even use mana. Many people thought that he could never become a knight.

But then Kevin proved all of them wrong. Again and again.

Now, he stood above the rest of his peers, leaving them all to eat his dust.

Kevin scratched his head awkwardly and extended a hand to help his opponent up.

"Well, you can say that it wasn’t a fair match to begin with".